Browsing the "Reviews" Category

Landon Williams
@TheEtCetera
You can hear the sounds of last minute preparations behind the giant curtain separating the stage from the audience. People push past each other to get as close as they can to the front. In a few minutes the curtains will open and the Oakland based SWMRS will begin their...

By CAITLIN PIPER
Copy Editor
@TheEtCetera
There’s something inherently hypocritical about a developer trying to paint their game with a “war is hell” message while still setting aside room for a spirited multiplayer death match somewhere in the code.
Civilians are being slaughtered, entire...

By DAVID SILVA
Editor in Chief
@DavidSilvaETC
Just as “Iron Man” and Robert Downey Jr. broke open the gates for the “first generation” of Marvel Cinematic Universe glory, “Doctor Strange” and Benedict Cumberbatch look to keep the golden age of superhero movies alive and strong by bridging...

By KACI GONZALEZ
Reporter
@TheEtCetera
“Moonlight” is a timeless, one-of-a-kind production that will leave any audience with a profound appreciation for film and cinematography.
Director Barry Jenkins (“Medicine for Melancholy”) crafts a phenomenal drama that signifies strength and difficulties...

By JON AGUIRRE
Staff Writer
@TheEtCetera
“Woptober” is the newest album from rapper-turned-meme Guwop, also known as Gucci Mane.
The man doesn’t need an introduction, and he’s probably the most popular artist I’ve ever reviewed.
Ironically, this is the worst album I’ve ever reviewed.
In...

By CAT DYSON
Reporter
@TheEtCetera
“Keeping Up With The Joneses” doesn’t start out like any other comedy involving spies, but a house exploding in the first scene might give that away.
Director Greg Mottola fabricates an uplifting comedy with hilariously awkward moments and action scenes...

By LANDON WILLIAMS
@TheEtCetera
As a band grows in experience, their sound tends to grow with them.
If you study the history of any band, you can see a drastic difference between their first and latest albums.
There is a constant debate among listeners about whether these changes are an improvement...

By JON AGUIRRE
Staff Writer
@TheEtCetera
When you listen to the very first track of “Atrocity Exhibition,” you become aware that this isn’t your average hip-hop album. You realize you’re about to embark on a journey, a ride full of terror, pain and hilarity through the mind of Danny Brown.
Brown...

By JON AGUIRRE
@TheEtCetera
When you think of experimental music, you may think it has to be weird, inaccessible or unpleasant. But experimental hip-hop trio clipping shows that innovation in music can be enjoyable and accessible.
Clipping. has mostly been categorized as “noise rap,” a genre...

By DAVID SILVA
@DavidSilvaETC
Editor’s Note: Includes season one spoilers.
How do you kill Pablo Escobar? Don’t ask anyone in season one of the critically acclaimed Netflix original series “Narcos.” They’ve all tried and failed. Local police officers, drug enforcement agents and other...

By KEVIN ORELLANA
Reporter
@TheEtCetera
It’s been some time since I’ve watched, much less enjoyed, a Tim Burton film.
Faced with the task of keeping my eyes in their respective sockets during a screening of Burton’s latest vision of spirals, white make up and sunken eyes in “Miss...

By RODRIGO MENDOZA
@TheEtCetera
Pittsburgh native Mac Miller has had a lot of hit songs including “Donald Trump” and his 2013 duet “That Way” with his now-girlfriend Ariana Grande.
Miller’s last few albums have not done very well commercially or critically, but I think that when the couple...

By RODRIGO MENDOZA
@TheEtCetera
Rebecca Skloot’s debut nonfiction book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” is this year’s common book, a literary work integrated into classes and activities throughout the academic year.
The common book experience is designed to encourage the college...

By Macks Prewitt
@TheEtCetera
John Krasinski stars in and directs “The Hollars,” a humorous family drama that follows struggling cartoonist John Hollar (Krasinski) living in New York City with his pregnant girlfriend Rebecca (Anna Kendrick). When his mother (Margo Martindale) suffers a stroke,...

By DAVID SILVA
@DavidSilvaETC
The late Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka in the 1971 film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” is seen as his career-defining performance. Countless warm childhood memories can be credited to Wilder and the quirky, boundless world that is Wonka’s factory.
Many...

By CAITLIN PIPER
@CaitlinPiperETC
Capcom has been drawing a lot of ire lately for its unabashedly greedy business practices, stacking downloadable content on downloadable content when they aren’t repackaging their old classics for any starry-eyed fan looking to relive their 32-bit glory days,...

By JAMES HARTLEY
@JamesHartleyETC
California post-hardcore quintet Of Mice & Men, one of the most culturally influential bands in the scene today, pushes their angsty, progressive sound to the next level in their latest album “Cold World.”
While other bands would find it near-impossible...

By WINSTON EASY
@theetcetera
“Hands of Stone,” directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz, is another good addition to the boxing film genre. Telling the story of Roberto Duran, known as one of the greatest boxers of all time originating from Guarare, Panama, the film is full of Panamanian culture and shows...

By DAVID SILVA
@DavidSilvaETC
Director Fede Alvarez takes audiences on a deadly game of cat-and-mouse in his new horror-thriller “Don’t Breathe.”
Alvarez, director of the 2013 “Evil Dead” remake, scales back the blood, gore and shock horror that characterized his breakthrough film by delivering...

By Jeremy Christian
“Free State of Jones” is an action-drama that tells the true story of an unlikely, little-known episode in American history: A gang of poor white farmers and runaway slaves band together to rebel against the Confederacy during the later stages of the Civil War.
The...

By James Hartley
Just keep swimming and don’t give up on Dory, even if she does have a tendency to forget important things throughout her “Finding Nemo” sequel, “Finding Dory.”
Shortly after returning home from their adventure to save clownfish Marlon’s (Albert Brooks) son, Nemo...

By Caitlin Piper
The infamous difficulty curve of the “Souls” series isn’t so much a sharp incline as it is a Sisyphean trek up the mountains of the Underworld. Just when I think I’ve gotten used to the weight of that boulder and manage to reach the peak, it slips from my hands and goes...

By David Silva
The legendary country singer with a larger-than-life personality Hank Williams gets a film rendition in Marc Abraham’s “I Saw The Light.”
Hank is known as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and is one of the most beloved characters in country music.
During...

By Tarryn Lingle
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s debut novel explores the impact money can have on families and individuals. “The Nest,” released March 22, currently sits at No. 3 on The New York Time’s Best-Sellers List.
Sweeney was a marketing copywriter for two decades before deciding to go back...

By David Silva
“Eddie the Eagle” tells the true story of underdog British athlete Michael “Eddie” Edwards, whose historic showing at the 1988 Winter Olympics made him an international celebrity.
Eddie’s (Taron Egerton) dreams of Olympic gold begin in early childhood. As a young...

Tarryn Lingle
Robert Eggers’s debut film “The Witch” is an absolute bone-chilling experience sure to haunt you far beyond the closing scene.
The film is set in 1630, showing the daunting events William (Ralph Ineson) and his family encounter after being excommunicated...

Though published in 1940, the story of “Native Son” by Richard Wright could resonate with young African-Americans today.
Wright is considered one of the most influential African-American writers of the 20th century. “Native Son,” his first novel, was a critical and commercial success.
It...

By David Silva
One cannot review a Kanye West album without first identifying the era of Kanye West nearest to their hearts. I remember listening to West’s “Yeezus” for the first time back in the summer of 2013. It was an album I couldn’t fully process on one run-through, so I turned to various...

By James Hartley
@ByJamesHartley
Comic book and superhero movie fans may have set their expectations for “Deadpool” a little low.
The first ever R-rated superhero kills his enemies without remorse and takes almost nothing seriously. It makes for a great, funny movie.
The humor starts in the opening...

By Mickey Smith
Around early 2003 my family picked up a PS2 and a few games including “Kingdom Hearts,” “Madden 2003” and “Dark Cloud 2.” I remember as a kid I spent hours playing all three of the games, but “Dark Cloud 2,” a dungeon-crawling action RPG, was what really grabbed my attention...